Our Family

Monday, October 25, 2010

Here are some random pictures of our 6 week old giant. We sure love this chunk! At 6 weeks he weighs 14 pounds - a feat the other kids took about 3 months to acquire! Here's my cute boy in his overalls.And a close-up of those cheeks!And one with a sneeze. :o)Nap time with Grandpa.Enjoying some tummy time. Can you believe how blond his hair is getting?Enjoying some time talking with Daddy.Rigdon was trying to sleep while Sadie was trying to get him to hold onto Nemo. I kept telling her to leave him alone before she woke him up. Silly me! He's a fourth child. The only thing that wakes him up is the house being too quiet!Sadie just adores her baby brother!Rigdon trying out the bunk bed with his big brother. Could Talmage's eyes get any bigger?And story time with Avri. It was so cute, I sat him in her lap and she read him her library book from school. He actually fell asleep while she was reading to him. So precious!This picture shows his true feelings about tummy time. Sleeping with a little smile on his face. :)

Saturday, October 23, 2010

My little brother is married! And to the sweetest and most beautiful bride ever. We were so glad that we were able to make the trip to Utah to be a part of their perfect and beautiful day. My sister was kind enough to watch all 4 kids while Kendall and I attended the wedding in the Mount Timpanogos Temple. It was beautiful and so peaceful to be in the temple. It has been a long time since I've been to a temple sealing. And being in THAT temple for the wedding brought back so many wonderful memories of my perfect day over 7 years ago. Between that and the after-baby hormones I needed a few tissues.

After some pictures we had a delicious luncheon and then a little time to get the kids some naps and then get ready for the reception. They had their reception at Somewhere Inn Time - the same reception center that Kendall and I used when we got married. But they had a beautiful outdoor reception. Everyone looked so nice, the turnout was great, the weather perfect, and the couple so happy. And now for pictures...Enjoying some lunch. YUM!Getting ready...Congratulations Ammon and Allison. We are SOOO happy for you and glad that you have joined REAL life. :) Welcome to the family, Allison. We love you both!

Our second trip to Utah for the year was a crazy one. We were so glad that we were able to make the trip so soon after Rigdon was born. We didn't know for sure if we would be going until about 2 days before we left. But Rigdon and I both got the all clear from our doctors, we hastily packed some bags and drove across the country with 4 kids, ages 8 days-5 years. Here are some disjointed thoughts and pictures from our stay in Utah.

The night we left was the Father & Sons campout in our ward in Peoria. Kendall was so sad that he was going to miss it, that he took his tent and had his own little campout in his parents' back yard. Here is Kendall with his boys.Rigdon only stayed for a little while, and then he needed Mom for dinner. Talmage had so much fun sleeping outside. They could have left the tent open all night, since Utah doesn't have hardly any bugs, but Grandma has kittens, and they wanted to play. So they closed up and had a fun night in the tent.Our sweet friends, the Kimballs, drove from Colorado to Utah while we were there (we will pretend like it was just to see us!) so we got together and went to lunch and then visited at the park while the kids played. Our girls are 2 days apart, and now our boys are 2 1/2 weeks apart. It was so fun to be able to see them again, and especially to see their sweet new baby boy.The moms cheered from the sidelines in the "feeding section" while the Dads and kids played.Rigdon Lee and Tanner Lee, born 2 1/2 weeks apart. Tanner is older, but I think Rigdon is actually bigger.Kendall and Danny, proud papas again...this time with their sons!A little friend train on the slide...They sure thought it was funny when Danny came down the slide to get them!It's a good thing the kids have a Daddy to play with. I don't know if he'll ever grow up. ;)Sadie and Brookie, two little princesses holding hands.Avri acts like such a mother to Brookie, but just loves her.One night we went to my brother and his wife's new apartment and they even started a movie for the kids. I just love my family. It's so fun to spend time with them and see how much they adore my kids - something we have in common!It took Rigdon exactly 12 days to get his first little fat rolls on his legs. He's going to be a roly-poly guy!I love newborn baby looks - kind of vacant like they are wondering what they are doing in this strange place with all of these weird people.Rigdon lost his umbilical stump on our way across the country, so we left it somewhere in Nebraska. Since that was gone, we could start tummy time, and this is his first one. He doesn't look very happy here, but he actually really likes sleeping on his tummy. He curls his short little legs into his body and snoozes away.Such a peaceful little man. Sad that he only got to wear this church outfit twice before it was too small for him. :( What's funny is that the pants still fit fine. He has such short little legs and a long solid torso.

I am so far behind on this blog, but I am desperately going to try to catch up. And I'm going to start with the first week of Rigdon's life...

All snug in his carseat, ready to go home from the hospital. I was so sad to see how big he was when we put him in his carseat for the first time. I'm grateful that his size makes him a bit sturdier (he may need the extra help with 3 older siblings). But I was really hoping to keep our last baby little for a while. And he didn't even start out little. But he is oh so sweet.I've been doing all of his night feedings in the living room so that I don't wake up the rest of the family. So all of our necessities have been right smack in the middle of the living room in our "baby station." But he hasn't actually slept in the pack-n-play. He spent the first couple of weeks sleeping in Mom and Dad's room and then moved into his crib in the "Big Boy Room." Talmage has been THRILLED to be finally sharing his room. He's been waiting for this for months - ever since we found out we were having a boy!Daddy was so excited to bring home his Big Rig that he decorated! He also surprised me by installing a new shower head, the kind that you can take off the wall. So now even Avri showers and has been able to do it all by herself.The big kids all LOVED having balloons around the house for a while. Until they all magically disappeared one night after they went to bed.He was a big baby, but he still looks so tiny in his swing.Being held by his big sister and giving her a big grin.First bath at home! You can tell how much he enjoyed that! We hadn't even taken his hospital bracelet off yet. But he did not like being naked very much.Finally happy, now that he's wrapped in a nice warm towel.He is such a happy little baby. He started smiling only a few hours after he was born and he has only smiled more and more frequently the older he gets. In fact, Rigdon is the child that I can feel the strongest love coming from him. If I've been away for a couple of hours or if someone else has been holding him, I can pick him up and he grins up at me or gives a big sigh and cuddles into me. It's like he's actually telling me how much he loves me and how happy he is to have me back. I've even gotten a couple of almost giggles out of him. He is endlessly melting my heart.Rigdon had his first haircut before he was even born. When they did my episiotomy they actually clipped a little of his hair. If you look toward the front of his hair you can see the missing chunk of hair. :) It was a nice clean cut, which made it stand out even more! But now, 6 weeks later you can't tell at all.Rigdon has so much hair!! And it's even more unusual because it is so blond. The girls were both almost bald, and Talmage had a good amount of hair, but not like this! The first little while his hair looked almost silver. It was such a beautiful color. It is still a gorgeous blond color, and getting even lighter and longer. I may have to trim it up if it keeps growing at this rate.

Rigdon had a little bit of jaundice the first week or so. Not enough to need lights, but enough that they said to put him in a sunny window and we had to have him tested a couple of times before we could be cleared to travel across the country. I thought for sure he would hate it! He cried every time I changed his diaper because he didn't like being undressed. But I guess he's like his Daddy and loves to bask in the warm sunlight. He just laid there for like 3 days in a row just loving it!Trying out the new shades while sunbathing.Rigdon always has his hands right up by his face. We have to swaddle them right down against his sides when he's sleeping so that he doesn't smack himself awake.Rigdon, welcome to our family. We have been waiting so long for your arrival and are so glad you are here. We love you so very much!